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Mrs Nesisa Mpofu

Auxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
THE Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has granted the Bulawayo City Council a Special Grant to prospect for gold at the municipality’s Good Hope Farm.

The local authority, which has said it has no interest in investing in mining, has indicated that it will soon invite interested parties to bid for the project.

BCC said mining is not council’s core activity, but its main role is to provide an enabling environment for business, including mines to thrive.

BCC Senior Public Relations Officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the local authority had been applying for the Special Grant since 2013, but it was only granted this month.

“Council applied to The Mining Commission on 13 December 2013 for a Special Grant to prospect and mine at Good Hope Farm.

“Further information was supplied in 2014. The Mining Commission did not respond despite numerous reminders. Several visits were made to the Mining Commission offices and the matter was still under consideration,” she said.

“In 2016 after staff restructuring in the Ministry of Mines, another application was lodged which was favourably considered and a Mining Grant was issued in June 2017. It should be noted that without a Special Mining Grant, Council could not carry out mining activities.”

Mrs Mpofu said in May, council approved the modalities of mining at Good Hope Farm and added that there are no registered mining claims at Aisleby Farm that Council is aware of. “Interested parties will be invited to submit expressions of interest including those who had shown interest in the past,” said Mrs Mpofu.

Asked whether Council was not depriving itself of revenue by not venturing into mining activities, Mrs Mpofu said: “Revenues from mining depend on many factors including the amount of gold deposits on site.

“A lot of capital outlay is involved in carrying out detailed geological surveys to establish the extent of ore underground.

“After geological surveys have proved the existence of gold, council needs to work out if the deposits are worth investing to extract them.

“It should be borne in mind that mining is not council’s core activity. Council’s role is to provide the enabling environment for business to thrive in including miners.”

@Auxiliak